GLOUCESTER — For most of the game, a perfectly executed scheme and disciplined brand of hockey helped the Gloucester girls hockey team keep visiting Peabody from getting the puck deep and crashing the net.
With an offensive zone faceoff, though, most of the work to get the puck below the dots was already done.
With just under 12 minutes remaining in a tie game, Peabody junior Mia Lava won a draw to the right of Gloucester goalie Kaydin Cusumano. Winger Vanessa Steinmeyer took the puck towards the net and Lava followed to the opposite end of the crease; as most of the Fishermen defense converged on Steinmeyer, the puck squirted over to Lava for a tap-in and the game-winning goal of a 2-1 decision at Talbot Rink.
“That was a great high school hockey game. I don’t think my heart rate has come down yet,” said Peabody head coach Michelle Roach, whose team couldn’t exhale until the final whistle as Gloucester (10-3-1) manufactured some quality scoring chances in the final few minutes.
Perhaps the best chance came when a loose puck found Gloucester’s Brooke McNiff just inside the circle, but Peabody’s Alexa Pepper blocked it. A few minutes earlier, Peabody goalie Alyse Mutti robbed Fishermen captain Ella Costa.
The best among Mutti’s 23 saves was a pad stop on Keagan Jewell’s partial breakaway backhand try.
“Gloucester played fantastic,” noted Roach, whose team improved to 10-1-0 and remained unbeaten in Northeastern League play. “This felt like a much faster game than the first time we played them. (Coach) Rob (Parsons) is doing a great job … they were ready for us.”
Peabody had to chase the game when Gloucester’s Lily Pregent scored on a breakaway just 4:00 into the first period. Halia Taylor’s outlet pass sent her in alone and gave the hosts the energy they needed to lead after one despite being outshot 12-6. Cusumano (27 saves) made a number of outstanding glove saves in that opening period and the Fishermen did a phenomenal job of protecting the net front and deflecting any long or medium range Tanner shots.
“We put in a disciplined system. The focus was don’t over commit and don’t under commit,” said Parsons, whose club has already qualified for the state playoffs for the first time in 22 years. “It worked … and it was on the cusp of working on the scoreboard.”
An end-to-end rush by Peabody senior captain Catie Kampersal turned the game around for the Tanners. Her initial breakaway shot rung the post, she tracked down the rebound, wheeled to the blue line and shot again only to be denied by Cusumano. Center Ava Buckley won that puck along the board and sent it to defenseman Eleni Spack, whose blast created a rebound Kampersal lifted past a diving Cusumano to knot the score 1-1.
“What a shift by Catie,” said Roach. “The was an incredibly important goal for us. The longer we went without scoring, the more confident Gloucester was playing. We had to pop one in.”
Pregent feathered a pass through the crease that just barely missed Ari Scola’s stick for a breathtaking chance in the second. Senior Sydney Butchie also had a great shot denied by Mutti as Gloucester had 11 shots in the second and seven more in the third to finish with 24.
Even though the Tanners had superior depth, the Fishermen left in all on the ice and certainly didn’t look tired on the final few shifts.
“Peabody’s a great team with three very good lines. It’s hard to tell the difference between line one and line three,” said Parsons. “You hate to feel good about a loss, but I’d say our girls don’t have a lot to hang their heads about; one bounce here or there and we earn a point. It was a very good product on the ice.”
Defensemen Jewell, McNiff and Costa were outstanding for Gloucester. Peabody had to regroup and find new ways to enter the zone throughout the night and felt simplifying their game paid off.
“We had a lot of problems in the neutral zone and we were trying to be too fancy,” Roach said. “We talked about just calming down, getting the puck deep and working on our cycle game.”
Centers Buckley, Lava and Yasmine Giacalone excelled in that area. Defensemen Leah Buckley, Michaela O’Driscoll, Daniella White and Spack also played well.
Peabody 2, Gloucester 1
at Dorothy Talbot Rink, Gloucester
Peabody 0 1 1 2
Gloucester 1 0 0 1
Scoring summary
First period: G, Lily Pregent (Halia Taylor, Keagan Jewell), 4:00.
Second period: PLNR, Catie Kampersal (Eleni Spack, Ava Buckley), 6:05.
Third period: PLNR, Mia Lava (Vanessa Steinmeyer), 3:35.
Saves: PLNR, Alyse Mutti 23; G, Kaydin Cusumano, 27.
Records: PLNR, 10-1-0; G, 10-3-1.